Broken Trust
by xsetfirex
Summary: Tony was left without back up in Dead Air by two people that he considered friends and trusted. His trust in them is no longer there and older issues that have once bothered him surface, threatening the future of the team. Tony/Gibbs, Tony/Tim, Tony/Abb
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything aside from the idea. NCIS belongs to its rightful owners and so the characters.

_AN- So I was thinking about the episode Dead Air and it was one that constantly makes me angry. Tim and Ziva not having Tony's back and switching off the radio was not only unprofessional but it was a pretty bad thing to do to a friend and partner. Tony should have reported that and they should have had consequences. Tim totally disappointed me, more so than Ziva who I can expect that behaviour from. I had read a couple versions of this episode on here and I have loved a few so I wanted to add my own. Older issues will be addressed later on but I wanted this episode to be a catalyst to start bringing to light other issues that were ignored when they should have been dealt with. _

Walking along the hospital floor Gibbs found himself holding his breath in. These situations never get easier, you never get use to getting a phone call and hearing that one of your people had been shot, blown up or injured. Thoughts emerged in his mind spinning round and round giving him a headache. This should not have happened. How did it? It was a simple task of questioning a few residents. How did his agent with two back up agents having his back end up shot?

'Boss.' McGee and Ziva stood as soon as Gibbs approached the waiting room. Not being able to meet his eye McGee looked anywhere and at anything but Gibbs.

Gibbs stood firmly analysing them both, 'DiNozzo?'

'He is fine Gibbs.' Ziva answered.

'What happened?' his spoke calmly and steadily.

'He was grazed.' Ziva answered shortly.

'Yeah, I know that, I got the call. What happened?' his irritation began to come through.

Silence surrounded the three and Ziva shook her head and Tim brushed his hand over his face.

'If somebody doesn't start explaining it to me-' Gibbs was interrupted by a voice from behind.

'It's fine boss, it was my fault.' Tony stood behind them with his shoulder bandaged.

'Are you OK?' Gibbs walked over and supported Tony by placing a hand on his unshot shoulder.

'Yeah, just a graze.' Tony smirked. 'It will take more than a bullet to hold a DiNozzo down. Anyway, I was questioning a resident and things got out of hand, and well you will have my report on your desk by this evening.'

Gibbs eyed Tony then looked between him and the two agents standing behind. 'Where were you two?' Gibbs questioned.

'They were in the car waiting for my signal to move out. I told them to stay put right guys.' Tony looked over at his team mates and shook his head. With widened eyes the two nodded in agreement.

'Tony,' Gibbs let go of him, 'what are you not telling me?' Gibbs looked at his senior field agent.

'I told you Boss, I screwed up. It won't happen again.'

'You're damn straight it won't.' Gibbs muttered before walking off in the direction of the nurse's desk leaving behind Tony, Ziva and McGee.

Tony looked at the two of them silently. Tim not being able to handle the look on his face broke the silence.

'Tony, I am so-'

'Shut up!' he snapped. 'Let's just get one thing straight, no, I did not tell Gibbs for your sake. I did it for the team. We have already lost members and I was not going to let this team be torn apart once again. That being said, us three, we are not friends. I don't trust you, I never will again. We are co workers and that is it. Do not even attempt to talk to me unless it is case related. If Gibbs ever pairs me with either of you, just know that I consider me my own partner. The only person who has my back is me. You two are both dead to me.' Tony looked away from them and plastered a small smile on his face as his boss joined them.

'You are being discharged Tony.' Gibbs stated, oblivious to the conversation.

'Great boss, actually, I am feeling a little nausea from the meds, do you mind if I went home?'

'Come on, I'll drive you home.' Gibbs took hold of Tony's jacket and personal belongings. Before leaving he turned, 'I want your reports on my desk asap.' He instructed Ziva and McGee. Still silent they nodded watching their boss and partner leave.

'McGee,' Ziva began.

'Don't! I know, we screwed up.' McGee's voice broke. Closing his eyes he sat down on the chair row by the nurses' station. Burying his head in his hands Tim stayed like that until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

'We did, but we didn't know that would happen. It was meant to be a joke.' She defended.

'One that almost got our partner and friend killed. Did you see how angry he was? I have never seen him like that. He is never going to talk to us again.' The thought alone hurt McGee. Tim and Tony bickered, they occasionally argued but they were partners and friends and had been for years. Tony may have irritated him and picked on him but he always had his back. _Then I in return, almost get him killed by not repaying him the same way he has done for me_, he thought.

'Tony is angry is now but he covered for us and no matter what he says that means that somewhere deep down he still cares for us. We messed up, yes, but we love Tony and never meant for that to happen. We will just need to make it up to him.' Ziva spoke trying to make sense of the scene.

'How we will ever make that up to him?' he asked.

'I don't know, but as long as Gibbs doesn't know then we can think of something. The minute that Gibbs finds out we are gone.'

'Maybe we deserve that.' McGee looked up in time to answer his ringing cell phone.

'McGee.' He answered.

'Tim what happened? Where is Tony? Is he OK? Gibbs said that he is ok but I want to hear it from you. Does he look ok?' The panicked voice of Abby appeared on the other line.

'Abby slow down, he is, well, he is alive and Gibbs is taking him home.'

'If he is going home then that means that he is ok, right Ducky?' The sound of Ducky's voice also appeared on the line. The two back at NCIS must be speaking through the loudspeaker.

'I am glad to hear that he is OK. Do you who his doctor was?' Ducky asked.

'A Doctor Mann.' Recalled McGee.

'He is a great doctor, I will phone him for a check just to make sure that everything is ok with Anthony.'

'Tim, please tell me that you and Ziva caught the guy who did this?' Abby asked softly.

McGee felt the emotional pain once again, 'We will Abs.'

'Good because we almost lost Tony and I don't think that I could have handled that.'


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything aside from the idea. NCIS belongs to its rightful owners and so the characters.

_AN Thank you so much for the cool reviews. I really love hearing feedback and I love even more that more people felt the same way that I did about that episode. I have to admit, it is so easy to make Ziva out as the bad guy because I really don't like her and I blame her for a lot of things that I dislike about the show now but I know that I have to keep in character, which I will try to do as best as I can in order to make it seem more realistic. I really want the focus to be on the characters more than the case because that will be the only way to work through their issues. I hope that you enjoy this. _

The elevator pinged open as Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo stepped out of it and looked around the office which was more like a home to him than a place he came just to work. Glancing over at his desk he observed the area noticing the two empty desks next to and opposite his. He breathed in relief. He didn't even want to look at them. The relief didn't last long as the next two people to step out of the elevator were the two he most wanted to avoid.

All stopping in their tracks Ziva and McGee looked from each other to Tony who was wearing a sling around his jacket.

'Are you three going to stand there and stare at each other all day or are you actually going to get some work done?' Gibbs came from the opposite direction holding a cup of coffee.

'Sorry boss.' Tony muttered resuming to his desk.

'DiNozzo!'

'Yes boss.'

Gibbs found his way to Tony's desk and lowered his voice, 'Are you sure that you don't want to take today off?' The concern shone through his voice. Gibbs examined his agent. They have worked together for almost nine years know; Gibbs liked to think that he knew Tony and that Tony knew him. Gibbs knew him well enough to know that something was not right with him.

'Unnecessary.' Tony lifted up his bad shoulder carefully in order to remove his jacket. Putting the concern to the back of his mind Gibbs focused on his other agents.

'You two,' Gibbs pointed to Tim and Ziva, 'I never received your reports last night, did I not make myself clear when I said that I wanted them asap?' Gibbs rarely shouted. He didn't then but the tone in his voice portrayed the irritation and impatience that he felt.

'You will have it in the next hour.' Ziva announced.

'I just put mine on your desk boss.' McGee pointed to the file on Gibbs desk.

'Next time I say ASAP you better make sure that it is within that hour and not the day after.' Gibbs muttered.

'Tony didn't give his.' Ziva spoke quietly, but not quietly enough as she received glances from all three men. Looking up she realized her mistake and added, 'Sorry, I didn't mean it like it sounded.'

'Gibbs.' He answered the phone ringing on his desk. 'Oh hey Duck, yeah, he is fine, here actually,' he eyed Tony, 'don't worry about that, minimal field work for him if I can help it Duck. Yeah, I'll tell him.' He hung up and leaned forward.

Tony would have usually made an issue and moaned about minimal field work. He was a cop; he lived for the field work, he loved it. In this case though, he was nothing but relieved. He didn't want to be alone with them at all, _next time I might wind up worst because of them_, he thought bitterly.

'Tony after you're done from Abby Ducky wants to see you.' Gibbs looked up from his computer.

'Ok, I'll go down after I finish my report.' That statement had Tim and Ziva's head shoot up. Tony looked over at them then back down at his pile of papers. He could sense their worry about what he would put in his report.

'DiNozzo.' Gibbs barked.

'Yes boss.'

'Go, now!'

'But my report, you want it ASAP.' Tony glanced at his boss.

'You can finish it after you see Abby and Ducky.' He pointed to the direction in which Tony started walking.

_Maybe once they see him for themselves they will stop bothering me,_ Gibbs thought at the concern coming from the staff at NCIS for his senior field agent. Secretly he loved that his team cared for each other. It showed how strong they were as a unit. When one hurt, they all hurt. Some saw it as a weakness, deep down Gibbs knew that they were right, but he knew that they had each other's backs.

Music filled Tony's ears as soon as he entered Abby's lab. The forensic Goth had her back turned to him and was focusing on the machine in front.

'Gibbs, I'm not that quick.' Abby spoke, not looking up.

'Well hello there beautiful.' Tony put on a deep voice.

Abby's face light up as she turned slowly to see Tony leaning against the door. Like he expected she jumped up into his arms.

'Ow, Abby, careful.' Tony laughed. Abby didn't let go but she loosened her grip.

'Tony, I was so worried.' Abby finally let go looking at Tony's face.

'I know.' Tony answered truthfully. He knew how much Abby cared for him. She was a great friend and the closest thing to a sister he had. Abby was one of the main reasons that he didn't want to tell Gibbs about what happened. He didn't want Abby to be torn apart because she was loyal. The most loyal person he knew and she would struggle. It was better that he kept it to himself.

'I was just processing the evidence. I am hoping that I will have a DNA match to I.D that scum bag who shot you.' She walked over to her computer and squinted hoping that it will ping.

Tony stood still as his thoughts roamed around loose in his head.

'Are you ok?' Abby asked.

'Yeah, why?' he asked.

Abby paused, 'You just seem distracted.'

'I'm fine.'

'Do you want to talk about it?' she pulled out her chair and offered it to Tony to sit. He smiled at the gesture and shook his head.

'I'm fine really. I just come down to say and hi. I gotta go see Ducky.'

'OK, but if you ever want to talk, you know that I am here.' She hugged him once again.

'I know Abs.'

Ducky's door opened as Tony made his way down to see him.

'Hey Ducky.'

'Anthony, how are you my dear boy.' Ducky put down his cup looking up from his file.

'I'm fine Ducky, Gibbs said that you wanted to see me.' He leaned over Ducky's autopsy table.

'Yes, I do, just to see how you are doing. I had your medical file faxed over and I must say your injury reminded me of one I saw-' he paused and looked at Tony's amused face. 'Sorry.' Ducky laughed.

Tony smiled too and the older man's partly told story.

'How are you doing?' Ducky examined.

'Well the pain has subsided but it feels heavy.'

'I meant emotionally.' Ducky loved the psychological aspects of cases, getting into people's minds and examining the how's, why's and when.

'I was grazed Ducky, I wasn't injured badly, I don't need emotional counselling.' He answered honestly. It was routine at NCIS for an agent to have a session after a serious injury but his wasn't serious.

'I still want you to have your mandatory session though.'

'I don't need it.'

'Fine, but I will have Jethro keep an eye on you and if he seems concerned then I will write it up and you will have the session.' Ducky knew that it was his job to refer Tony to the counsellor; he also knew that he wouldn't go; he has refused a few times before with other situations. It was one of the many things that he had in common with Jethro Gibbs. Stubborn and they refused help.

Tony began to leave and Gibbs walked in.

'I'll be up in a second DiNozzo. Go finish your report.' Gibbs instructed.

Once he was sure that Tony was out of sight Gibbs rubbed his forehead.

'You seem worried Jethro.'

'This one is bugging me Duck.'

'Well someone shot one of your agents and he is still running around out there.'

'No not that. Well, yeah, that is bugging me but I meant with DiNozzo. Something is up.'

'What do you mean?'

'He is being quiet.'

'Well, I know that it is out of character but he is probably just in shock. I do want him to see the agency's counsellor but he refused. If this carries on then I will have her approach him.'

'That's probably it. I'm just, I don't know Duck, something is up, I can feel it.'

'Have you spoken to Timothy and Ziva about it?'

'No, I haven't. Maybe I should.'

'They are Anthony's partners and friends; they were also there with him. If anyone would know what is going on with him it should be them.'

'Thanks Duck.' Gibbs patted the man softly on the pat before exiting.

_Something is up,_ he thought.

_AN So this was kind of a boring filler chapter. I needed it to set up a few things. I wanted to put two scenes with Ducky and Abby because Tony a different kind of relationship with them and they seem to be the two that usually sense when something is off. I hope that it wasn't too boring and the next one should start getting more interesting. Thanks again for the reviews and if there is anything that you would like to see then let me know and I will try and incorporate it. _


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything aside from the idea. NCIS belongs to its rightful owners and so the characters.

AN Thanks so much for the reviews guys. I read them all over and over just to look out for improvements and what you all like. It makes it easier to know what to write when your audience know what they want. I do want to update as much as possible and I have got scenes chapters ready to go daily. I just want to shout out to karlii, who suggested having Tony speak to Palmer. Originally this chapter was Tony talking to someone else but I changed it because Palmer just made so much more sense. Thank you for the idea. I have taken into account the reviews and I have listened and thought about everyone's suggestions. Enjoy.

'Earl, another scotch.' Tony lifted his empty glass and held it in front of his face.

'Hey Tony, you know I got a whole lot of love for you and all but are you sure that you want another one? That would be your third and you will so regret it in the morning.' The bartender eyed him.

'Appreciate the looking out.' Tony nodded then continued to hold the glass in the air. Earl shaking his head pulled out the scotch bottle refilling Tony's empty glass. Tony stared into the glass looking at the content. With one hand holding the glass the other was used to rub his forehead. Lost in thoughts one constantly flashed at him all the time. _How could they? _

'Hey Tony!' The sound of the familiar voice had Tony turn on his stool to meet the wide smile of Jimmy Palmer.

'Palmer! I didn't know that you came here.' Tony put down the glass.

'I don't but I am meeting a lady friend.' His smile widened further. Aside from when he said inappropriate things to Gibbs Jimmy had a smile twenty four seven, seven days a week. Tony admired that about him. The man that he often referred to as the autopsy gremlin was a positive thinker always looking at the brighter side.

'A lady friend? You sly fox.' Tony approved with a grin.

'Well, it seems that I am a little early.' Jimmy glanced around not seeming to find his date.

'What time are you suppose to meet?' Tony asked.

'Ten.' Jimmy answered. Tony looked at his watch.

'Jimmy it's just past nine.'

'I didn't want to be late.' He nodded his smile fading. _Typical,_ Tony thought.

'Well in that case,' Tony pulled back the stool to his right, 'what can I get you to drink?'

'Just a water.' Tony stared at him with a raised eyebrow as Jimmy continued, 'Anything heavier and I would need to use the men's room every ten minutes.'

Tony held up his hands, 'I don't need to hear any more. Earl, water.'

'How are you doing, you know after being shot and all, it hurts right? I mean, not that I have ever been shot but I can imagine it being painful.' He rambled. The bartender placed a bottle of water in front of the two.

'I'm fine.' Tony repeated the same line that he fed everyone else. This time it was Palmers turn to raise his eyebrow.

'Are you really?' Palmer took a sip of his water.

Tony paused, 'I don't know.' He sighed. Silence fell between the both of them for a brief moment.

'Tony, I know that you and I are not the best of friends, but I do consider you a friend. During the time when you were boss you and I spoke a lot. You listened to me when I needed it and treated me like a member of the team. You consulted with me and asked for my opinion. For that I will always respect you. So, if you need to talk, I am always here to listen.' Palmer placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. Smiling at the gesture Tony pushed away the glass in front of him. He didn't need that. Drinking won't solve anything.

'I appreciate that Palmer. And just so you know, you are a member of this team and a needed one.' Tony assured him. He knew that Palmer got a lot of slack from the others, mostly him but he was a good guy and a part of Team Gibbs. He cared about everyone and always wanted to help and lighten the mood. All teams need a Jimmy Palmer.

'I know I am not McGee or Ziva but I am up for a drink when you need to talk.' Jimmy added. Tony looked at him and narrowed his eyes at the comment.

'Palmer, I wouldn't want you to be McGee or Ziva.' Tony muttered pulling the glass toward him and taking a gulp and placing it back down.

Palmer looked confused. 'They are your friends though.'

'No Jimmy, they are not.' Tony took another sip finishing.

'Tony what's going on?' he asked.

Breathing in Tony closed his eyes. Opening them he began, 'There was a time when I would have trusted my life in either of their hands. They are my partners; we are supposed to have each other's backs. Right?' he asked.

Palmer nodded, 'Yeah of course.'

'The case we were working on, I had to interview a couple of suspects and people, just to get a look and see if anything was suspicious. I was talking to a resident in the area that we were in and they obviously thought that I wasn't paying attention and they said something along the lines of not wanting to hear my voice anymore and to switch the radio's off.'

Palmers eyes widened, 'Tony they wouldn't.'

'They did, which is why they never had my back when I struggled with the terrorist and got shot.'

'They could have just reacted slowly, not realized what was going on.'

'They didn't know what was going on because the radios were off.' Tony finally admitted it out loud and it sounded just as painful as it did in his thoughts.

Palmer stayed silent processing everything that was just said by Tony.

'Tony you know what you have to do.' He snapped back into reality.

'Don't trust them ever again?'

'You have to tell Gibbs.' Palmer sat forward.

'There is no point, he wouldn't have a choice but to report it to Vance and that will just get them into trouble.'

'Then so be it. Tony, you cannot work alongside two people who betrayed your trust.' He slammed his fist down.

'Palmer, I need you to keep this to yourself.' Tony pointed a finger at him.

'They deserve it why are you protecting them?'

'Oh they deserve it, but for the sake of this team, I need to keep my mouth shut.'

'This will tear the team apart.' Palmer confirmed.

'Exactly which is why this stays between us.'

'Tony, you always put the team first. You put up with so much for this team. I saw the way that they treated you when Agent Gibbs left; they constantly reminded you that you were not him. After he returned they didn't even acknowledge what a good job you did. Ziva was in trouble and instead of coming to you who was her boss at the time she went to Gibbs who was in Mexico and couldn't help her. Remember when you told me that the director offered you your own team? What did McGee say?'

'That I did not deserve my own team.' Tony recalled.

'Exactly. Where was the recognition of your hard? This time put you first.' He pointed at him.

'I want to hate them Jimmy I do. I want to tell Gibbs and it's killing me but I just can't. It isn't worth it. They will lose their jobs and as much as they were wrong I can't live with myself knowing that I got them suspended or fired.'

'Tony, when you were the boss, if something like this happened and two of your agents did that to another wouldn't you want to know? Especially if they were injured as a result.' Palmer questioned him.

'Yeah, I would.' Tony knew he was right. Gibbs should know about this. But it would only hurt him in the process. Gibbs thinks the world of Tim and especially Ziva. During the time when she was gone Gibbs wanted nothing more than her back on the team. He trusts her and it is not easy for Gibbs to trust. _I will not shatter that image of his,_ he thought.

'Hey Jimmy.' A tall blonde approached the two men by the bar.

'Hey you.' Jimmy smiled at his date that had arrived, 'This is my friend Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.' He introduced them.

'So are you ready.' She asked.

Palmer looked at Tony not sure whether leaving him was a good idea.

'Go.' He assured him patting him on the back.

'Tony, I meant what I said.'

'I know, thanks for listening.'

'I am here for you whenever you want to talk. And just so you know, it's not worth holding onto something if you know that it is not right.' With that he left Tony at the bar.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything aside from the idea. NCIS belongs to its rightful owners and so do the characters in this story.

_AN Thank you again for the reviews and the PM's. You guys totally make my day and I love hearing all your suggestions. You have so many great ideas it just sucks that the writers can't read them all and realize the mistake they made with covering up that awful scene in Dead Air. I know that a lot of you want Gibbs to find out and he will, but I want to set it up in a way that it makes sense. It is very much in character for Tony to want to protect his team mates even if they did hurt him. Very much like when Ziva pushed him down and aimed the gun at him. Tony is not a tattle tale because he wants to protect his team who he considers his family. It will all come out eventually and there will be consequences. This chapter does focus a lot on Tony and Tim and their relationship because there is history with them and he is the one who disappointed me the most in that scene. I want to redeem him but I don't know if he deserves that. Enjoy. _

Taking a sip from his coffee Gibbs looked up and stared across the squad room. The usual sound of bickering or conversing was absent. His three agents sat at their desks with their heads down working. There wasn't a time in the many years of them all working together that Gibbs remembered a scene like this. Sure, there were times when one was more quiet then the other two but they were never all silent. In fact, they had been barely acknowledging each other at all. Focusing his gaze across to his senior field agent Gibbs placed his cup down and let the thoughts in his head spin round. Every since Tony's injury his gut had been sensing that something was off. Tony was off. But now looking at the scene in front of him, all his agents were off. Tim and Tony had been colleagues for years and above that, friends. They had never, since the day McGee was brought onto the team, held such a silence between them. There was nothing more than Gibbs loved than his agents focusing and working but to this extent? That was abnormal.

'Gibbs.' He answered into the phone. 'Yeah, with what? Really?' he eyed his agents before continuing to speak, 'OK, I'll be up in a second.' He placed down the phone and sat back in his chair. He now had three faces staring at him.

'Is everything OK boss?' McGee asked.

'Fine.' He muttered before making his way to where they all assumed was Vance's office.

The remaining agents watched him walk up.

'What was that about?' Ziva asked breaking the silence between them.

'I don't know, do you have any idea?' Tim directed the question to Tony. Shrugging quietly Tony put his head back down and continued to type away.

Tim sighed to himself.

'I managed to get you that list that you wanted last week.' Tim pulled a sheet out from his printer and waved it to Tony.

Smirking Tony shook his head, 'Wow, if getting shot was all I needed for you to actually do something for me then you guys should have switched of your radio's long before.'

With that comment Ziva looked around the room to see if that comment was heard.

'Tony,' she began.

'I don't wanna hear it Ziva.' He replied not looking at her.

'Are we ever going to get past this?' she asked. Her voice grew soft as she waited for an answer. Her partner was in pain and it was her fault. She knew that.

'No Ziva, I don't think that we can.'

'Tony, you are our friend,' McGee started.

'Friend?' Tony stood up from his desk. 'Friend? What do you know about being a friend? You can't even be a proper partner.' Tony's volume began increasing and the three were given glances by a few agents on the opposite side of the room. Tony glanced around realizing the control that he was losing. Feeling the need to walk away from the situation he directed himself out of the room and away from his former friends. Getting away from them had to be done otherwise he would lose it completely. Tony found himself walking to a place that would calm him down.

'Abby, you busy?' he asked

'What are you doing down here?' Abby asked with a smile after Tony reached his destination. Abby had the power to calm him down; he needed to be with someone who could do that.

'I can't come and see my old friend Abby?'

'Does Gibbs know that you are down here?'

'No, does that matter?'

'Does it matter if you get head slapped?' She pointed out.

'Yes, but you are totally worth getting the head slap.' He grinned holding up a caf pow.

'Flattery will get you ever where. Have a seat in my office.' Abby took the drink and walked through to her desk leading Tony.

'How are you doing?' he asked picking up papers from her desk.

'Trying to run these prints for Gibbs, he keeps making me test different things for this case and he wants the results back within hours, that man has no patience.'

'Tell me about it.' He laughed. 'But he has been pretty great since I got shot. He keeps asking me how I am. I hate nice Gibbs.'

'He is always nice.'

'To you maybe. To the rest of us he bites and growls.'

'What are you doing down here buddy?' she interrogated. She loved speaking to Tony but him visiting her during work hours was unusual. There was a time that he always did but not recently.

'I just wanted to talk.'

'About what?'

'Do you remember when we first met?'

Abby gave a loud laugh, 'Of course, you came into NCIS acting all cool and hitting on every female agent.'

Tony joined in laughing at the memory. 'Not every woman, just those under thirty.' He corrected.

'I thought you were such a dog.' She recalled. 'Then you just won me over with you just being who you are.' Tony looked down at her comment; did he know who he was?

'Who am I Abs?' he asked.

'You are someone who is fiercely loyal, who always puts other's needs in front of his own. Even if that makes him miserable.' She reflected on the years that she has known Tony.

'Actually,' she continued, 'someone once said that you are a competent, smart agent, one who will risk his life to protect the innocent and those who he loves. They then went on to say that if they had to put their lives in anybody's hands then it will be yours every time without a question because they trusted you to have their back more than anyone else.' She quoted remembering.

Tony felt any insecurities fade for a brief moment. Deep down he knew what person said that. One he missed everyday even though he rarely spoke of her.

'Do you know who said that? Kate.' She revealed.

Tony closed his eyes and sighed remembering his partner.

'I miss her Abs.'

Abby felt tears form in eyes, just for a brief moment, 'I do too.'

'I remember when I was in the hospital with the pneumonic plague; Kate lied to me and said that she had it too. I realized soon after that she didn't. Then I realized it was because she wanted to stay with me. She risked infecting herself with it just to make me feel better, I just hate that I never got a chance to thank her for that.' The memory was one that hurt like an opened wound.

'You didn't have to tell her, she knew and she didn't regret it. She cared for you Tony.'

'Don't get me wrong, she was a total up tight bitch at times too,' he laughed remembering certain times when they had their differences, 'but you could trust her with your life.'

The reminiscing began.

'You two had such a great relationship, at times. I remember when Tim first joined the team and you and Kate use to give him Gibbs' coffee to drink. Then again, you and Tim totally used your guy power against her.' Abby giggled recalling the boys vs. girls dynamic that they once had.

'I remember when McGee and I had to explain to Kate about the rules of men and women being friends. She actually thought that men and women could just be good platonic friends. We teased her about it for days.'

'What about when Kate and McGee teased you for months about that he/she you kissed.' Abby recalled the memory that Tony was so desperate to forget.

'That never happened Abby, it didn't.' He protested.

'Kate always use to say that you and Tim were just like her brothers, then again you two always were like bickering brothers. McGee totally looks at you like his big brother.' Abby told him. 'That time when he shot that cop, he told me that you went round to see him, that you were the one who made him feel better, I couldn't even believe it when he told me.' She spoke about the situation.

'I felt so sorry for him.' Tony admitted. He remembered how bad McGee felt and how much Tony wanted to make him feel better. Tony then had a flash of himself getting shot. The feelings of betrayal came rushing back. He felt anger, towards McGee. He was his friend, his brother, his partner and he did that to him. That feeling was then replaced with a deep sadness. _What happened to that kid, _he thought to himself not knowing the answer.

'Tony, are you ok? You totally spaced out there for a minute.' Abby wondered aloud.

Tony was brought back to reality.

'Yeah, anyway, I better head up before Gibbs calls out a search party. I am so going to get head slapped.'

'Yes, but remember that I am worth it.' Abby teased blowing her friend a kiss.

A knock on the door brought Tony up from his sofa. Turning away from his TV set he opened the door to his apartment.

The guest spoke first. 'I want to talk.'

Tony had two choices; he could slam the door in his face and not listen to any of the excuses coming from his friend's mouth. Or he could hear him out and try to understand. Opening the door Tony let him in silently closing the door behind him.

Tony crossed his arms and leant against his wall.

'Where do I begin?' McGee started.

_AN This chapter made me really sad especially when doing the flash backs. . I miss the dynamics that the group had in season one and two. They were a complete different group who teased each other but at the same time had so much respect for one another. They had each other's backs. I hope that you enjoyed that. _


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything aside from the story idea. NCIS belongs to its rightful owners and so do the characters.

_Thanks again for the great reviews. As for the reviewer who claimed that I was becoming arrogant and cocky, never once did I ever state that I wrote better than the writers. There is a disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter stating that these characters and this show is not mine. The only thing that I am doing is changing something from one episode that I strongly disliked and turning it AU. I love this show, which is why I spend my time writing when I have the free time. I do not need to be told that it is the number one show, I am a huge fan. I know that. If I offended anyone with my authors notes and sounded arrogant and cocky I apologize for that but I never suggested that my idea's were better neither did I ever hint that my idea's were better. The writers on the show are hired for a reason, because they are professional writers, I write on a fan board, if I thought that I was better than them I would not write on here and I would be trying to write professionally. I simply suggested that people's ideas for this particular episode in my opinion, sounded better than what we got, as the scene that I am basing it off went unresolved. I'm sure that everyone has had times when they thought, 'if I could change that,' I respect the writers and think that they do a wonderful job which is why they are number one and which is why I am a fan. For those who commented on enjoying the previous chapter, thank you, I hope that this next chapter is OK. _

'Where do I begin?'

Tony shrugged, 'how about when you stabbed me in the back?' the bitterness shone through his voice.

McGee winced, 'I made a mistake Tony, I never wanted this to happen.'

'A mistake? A mistake is accidently sending an email to someone else, turning off our communication line because you were tired of hearing my voice? That was not a mistake, it was a choice.' Tony threw it at him moving closer towards him.

'I was just,' Tim began

'You were just what?'

'I was tired, just tired of always being inferior to you. Tony since we met, you have always been the higher ranking agent, the better one and you always let me know it.'

'I never told you that I was a better agent than you.' Tony defended the accusation.

'You didn't have to say it; everybody knew it, you, Gibbs, Ziva, Kate. You don't think I know that you are Gibbs right hand man?' McGee finally admitted it to someone other than himself.

'So you turned the radio off because in your head you fabricated this scenario where everybody thinks I'm a better agent than you?' Tony tired to understand but failed to follow.

'No, that is not what I meant.' Tim yelled annoyed with himself for not being able to word his feelings correctly.

Tony sat down on his sofa and brushed his hand along his hair. This conversation was going nowhere in fact; it was doing worse than it was better.

'You said that I always let you know that I am the better agent, let's talk about how you always shoved your degree and education in my face.' Tony began, 'Tony you're not smart enough, you didn't go to MIT, you can't use a computer, you can't do this, and you can't do that.' He mimicked.

'I never meant it like that.' McGee said desperately. He was trying to reach out. He wanted to tell him everything about how he felt, make him understand that he never meant for this to happen.

'Ziva does not say that I am the better agent, she barely registers me as a competent agent let alone the best agent.'

'That is not true Tony, Ziva thinks the world of you.'

'Don't defend her.' Tony spat out. 'You have no idea.'

'No idea about what? Ziva adores you; she has proven that time and time again.' McGee tried to make him see what he thought.

'She adores me? Does adoration mean not inviting you to a party after I just saved you life a week before that?'

'What do you mean?'

'That time we went undercover, I risked my own life for her and she doesn't even invite me to the party she had later on when everyone including Gibbs got an invite? Ok, that is childish and something that kids would argue about. Let's give a more adult example,' Tony reflected.

'How about when she threw me on the floor and aimed a gun at my chest in Israel, does that show adoration probie?' he finally said. Tony had not spoken of that with anyone. He wanted to try and forget about it, after all, she was angry and upset.

'No way, she wouldn't do that.' McGee denied.

'Since you're such good buddies now why don't you ask her?' Tony challenged.

McGee swallowed taking it that information. 'You never told anyone. Why?' he wanted to know.

'Because I felt guilty. Gibbs had already chosen me and I felt bad. She was stuck in Israel because of me and I didn't want to push it further. So I closed my mouth.'

'Gibbs chose you? Over what?'

'Over Ziva. In Israel she issued Gibbs an ultimatum, her or me. Gibbs picked me.' Tony reflected back to over hearing Gibbs tell Ducky. The night that they returned from Israel Tony had stopped by Gibbs house to try and find a way to bring Ziva home. That was when he heard it all, Gibbs telling Ducky that Ziva made the choice for him when she asked him to choose. Tony, after hearing that left.

McGee couldn't believe it, he didn't want to. _How dare she try and get Tony kicked of the team after all that he did for her. He protected her, he cared for her, _he thought.

'Then she went missing.' McGee replayed those few months in his head.

'I felt bad, that it was my fault. I wanted to save her because it was me who led her there to Saleem or my actions anyway.'

'Tony that was not your fault. Rivkin attacked you and you defended yourself. Her staying in Israel was her own choice. Have you ever brought up her attacking you, to her?' he wondered to Tony.

'Why would I? What could I say, Hey Ziva, great day huh, remember the time when you pulled a gun on me? Great times huh?' Tony mocked.

Both were now sitting on Tony's sofas. Silence filled the room as the two sat there for what felt like years. Looking over at Tim Tony wondered if he could ever forgive him.

'Do you hate me that much that the sound of my voice forces you to switch of the radio?' Tony finally broke the tension.

Tim looked at him in genuine surprise, 'Tony, I don't hate you. You are my friend, I consider you my best friend. I made an error in judgement and I am so sorry that you ended up hurt because of me. Hate me all you want, I deserve it but you can't punish me more than I am punishing myself.' Tim had to fight back the croak in his voice. Seeing the man who he looked up to, and considered his brother, in so much pain because of him tore him apart. He could never live with himself. If it was any worse than Tony's shoulder he would never have been able to cope.

'I don't hate you Tim, truth is, I can't. But I don't trust you. You are not my friend anymore; I can't lie to you to make you feel better. The probie I trusted died when you turned off the radio. I am keeping my word and not telling Gibbs. I don't want you to lose your job. You are a good agent. I know that you are sorry. I trust that you didn't want this to happen and that you would never do that to anyone else. But our trust is broken. You are no longer my probie.'

That last line was what made Tim tear up. Finally he could not take it anymore.

'I understand. If you ever change your mind, there is nothing more that I want than the chance to earn your trust back.' His voice broke as with that final say he left Tony alone in his apartment.

'I'm sorry too.' Tony said.


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything aside from the idea. NCIS belongs to its rightful owners and so do the characters.

_AN This is a filler chapter just to get some things intact for the next few chapters. Thank you all again for the amazing reviews. It was so hard writing that Tim and Tony scene. I really want to redeem him because I love the character but it is so hard to find a way to make that possible. I know that there has been a lack of Gibbs but that should be improving in the next couple of chapters. Thanks for sticking with this story. _

Tim exited the elevator and arrived in the squad room. His eyes searched the room and the only member of his team insight was Ziva.

'Hey McGee.' Ziva greeted with a smile.

McGee sat down at his desk and didn't answer. He stared at her, contemplating how to approach things, before getting up and standing in front of Ziva's desk.

'Are you ok?' she asked, concern all over her face.

'I need to talk to you,' he looked around the room, 'alone.'

Ziva looked over to the elevator where it seemed to always be used for discreet conversations between the team. She shook her head and led the way to the conference place.

Once the doors were securely closed Tim pulled the stop switch disallowing the elevator to move.

'I went to see Tony last night.' He told her. His voice remained calm.

Ziva looked to the floor, 'How is he doing?'

'How do you think?' his voice increased. The thought alone that Ziva could even ask that stupid question irritated him enough to bang the side of the elevator. Ziva flinched at the movement.

'Ok, stupid question, I can't imagine how he is, I know McGee, we messed up.' She rambled. The whole situation had been worrying her for days. She had dealt with men shot before when working a case but none was because of her, none except Rivkin. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind.

'Did he speak to you?' she asked curiously. If he spoke to McGee then she wanted to speak to him too, she wants to explain her side, to tell him that she is sorry and that she wants him to talk to her again and go back to how they use to be.

'Yes, he spoke to me.' He breathed.

Waiting for him to continue Ziva shrugged, 'And?'

'Well, aside from the fact that he will never trust us again, he let me explain why I was annoyed and how I was feeling at the time.' McGee reflected back on his conversation with Tony. He didn't hate him but he didn't trust him. 'He might as well hate me.' He continued sadly before remembering the rest of the conversation which kept him up all of the night turning restlessly in his bed.

'Then he did some explaining himself.' He continued.

The confusion across Ziva's face was evident, 'I don't quite follow you.'

'He told me Ziva,' McGee's bitter tone was heard, 'About Israel.'

Ziva felt her throat close up, 'What about Israel?' she managed to articulate.

'That you pulled a gun on Tony, that you then went to Gibbs and gave him an ultimatum. You were going to make him choose between you and Tony.' He accused. She went silent not answering.

'Well, tell me that he is lying. Tell me that you did not attack him. Tell me that you did not make Gibbs choose between you and Tony.' His volume increased as he demanded her to answer him.

Tears forming in her eyes Ziva shook her head, 'It's true.' She admitted.

McGee turned away from her placing his hands on his head.

'McGee, I was angry, I wanted Gibbs to prove that he wanted me on the team.' She defended.

'At the expense of Tony who always had your back? So what, did you think that Gibbs would choose you over his senior field agent who worked with him for eight years? Gibbs adores you Ziva but to ask him to pick you over Tony is pointless, ridiculous and selfish. What if he had picked you? Would you have been able to walk back into the office, sit at your desk, look across at the desk opposite you and face the fact that you got him kicked of the team? What would have happened when Abby, or me, or Ducky asked why he left? Would you have just shrugged like you had no idea what happened? Would it have eaten you up knowing that it was your fault?' He yelled.

'Of course it would. I was wrong. McGee, try to understand, I just lost the man that I believed I loved, my father had betrayed me, Tony betrayed me I was hurt and confused. I felt like I had no choice.' She recalled.

'Of course you had a choice. Tony never betrayed you. He shot Rivkin is self defence and you know it.'

'I know, I made a mistake.' She cried.

'Yeah, we just keep making those mistakes.' He sighed.

'I would do anything to take back what happened in Israel. I lost control.'

'Have you apologized to him for that?'

'Yes.' She recalled a conversation in the bathroom with Tony after she had returned to NCIS.

'Did you specifically apologize for the attack?'

'Not specifically.'

'So what, you two just went back to working together without addressing an issue this big?'

The answer he was looking for never came. She remained quiet knowing that he was right. There was never a conversation that followed. She never asked him how he felt about that or explained why she did it. She attacked her partner and it was buried.

'Is he going to tell Gibbs?' she broke the silence after a brief second.

'No, he isn't. Tony wouldn't let the team fall apart Ziva and he wouldn't let us get in trouble, even if our asses deserve to be fired. You should know that by now.' With that he switched back the elevator to its resuming settings and left Ziva alone in there composing herself.

The next hour everyone was at their desks. The silence again caused Gibbs to stop his work and look at each of his agents.

'Agent Gibbs,' he answered his ringing phone. 'Yeah, I'll be up ok.' He closed his phone and headed up the stairs.

'Where does he keep disappearing too?' Ziva muttered under her breathe.

Gibbs entered the squad room almost an hour later. There was no point of asking him where he was, he would never answer them.

'Gibbs, interrogation room now.' The team looked behind Tony's desk to see the director approaching.

'Interrogation, who is being interrogated?' Ziva asked.

The three got up from their seats, they were stopped as Gibbs held a hand up in the air routing them to the spot.

'You will not be watching today.' Was all he said before he and Vance disappeared, with the others left confused by this unpredictable event happening.


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything aside from the idea. NCIS belongs to its rightful owners and so do the characters.

_AN Thanks for the amazing reviews, I love reading them and they always make me excited to post my next chapter. I hope that this chapter makes sense. If not them please feel free to correct me or tell me that it was confusing. _

The interrogations were the thing that all three agents looked forward to the most. Seeing criminals confess to their crimes and watching their boss read them their rights was always such a pleasure. They looked forward to it with every case and it was their pay off for working hard on catching the criminal. Gibbs allowed them that; he let them watch on the other side. _'They deserve it.'_ He always thought.

'Where's Gibbs?' Abby asked as she entered the squad room. The three were sitting at their desks.

McGee looked up from his papers, 'In interrogation.'

'Is he booking the guy that shot Tony?' Abby asked in excitement. She wanted Gibbs to get crazy at him and she wanted to be there to see it. As far as she was concerned the guy is getting what is coming to him. He shot her friend, one that she cherishes and he should pay for that.

The three in unison looked around at each other wondering what Abby was talking about. The confusion was evident on all their faces and they each stood up gaining more closeness to Abby.

'Gibbs is interrogating the shooter?' Ziva asked in disbelief.

Abby registered the expression of confusion on their faces, 'Yeah, you didn't know that I found a DNA match? Who did you think he was talking with?'

Tony shook his head, 'We thought that he was interrogating for another case. He wouldn't let us watch. How long have you known who the guy was?'

'I just got the results this morning. This is good news right. I mean this guy shot our friend. He should be booked. If you ask me he deserves worst than just spending the rest of his life in prison. This is over now right?' Abby placed a hand on Tonys shoulder.

'It's over now Abby.' Ziva confirmed.

They all looked to the direction in which they heard Gibbs and Vance approaching them. They waited to be addressed but they just received stares from the two higher authorities who looked from one to another.

'Boss, is there something that you want to tell us?' McGee confronted. Why wasn't Gibbs including them in this?

'I want you all in my office, Abby included.' Vance announced while receiving wary looks from the team.

They looked to Gibbs for approval, 'Did you all just hear?' he replied shortly making himself heard as he led them. They remained silent as they headed to what they referred to as 'the principal's office.'

Once they were all there Vance and Gibbs stood by each other's sides as the four stood waiting to find out what caused this.

'I am sure that you are wondering why I called you all here in my office. I am sure that you are aware that we found the man who shot Agent DiNozzo.'

'We have booked him.' Gibbs confirmed looking especially at Tony.

'It has come to our attention that certain things about this case do not make sense. There are inconsistencies.' He pulled out files from his desk and placed them down on his desk in front of them.

'These are Agent DiNozzo's, Agent McGee's and Agent David's reports about the event of the shooting.'

'Agent David,' Gibbs looked into a copy of his own of her report, 'you said in your report that you went to back DiNozzo when you heard the struggle over the radio and then you heard the gunshot as you approached the scene.' Gibbs then placed Tim's report down onto Vance's desk, 'McGee said that you ran out of the car to back DiNozzo _after _the gunshot was heard, there was no mention of hearing of the struggle. DiNozzo, you reported that you struggled after he shot you in the shoulder. Those all say different things. I have read years worth of all your reports and I have never seen inconsistencies like these before. There was an agent injured on scene, they should all be accurate and consistent which they are not, I don't understand.'

'So what came first?' Vance questioned, 'One of you says that there was a struggle first, the other claims that a gunshot was heard before the struggle came. These small inconsistencies do not make sense. Does anyone want to explain?'

The three agents involved held their heads down. Gibbs examined them all seeing their facial expressions and watching their physicality. They were all standing straight with their hands by the sides. Abby stood with her arms folded looking back and forth between her team, _how can that be, they were all together,_ she thought wanting an explanation to unfold.

'Tony,' Gibbs called. 'Where were you when Tim and Ziva found you?' he asked.

Tony avoided looking at them, there was nothing he could do now, he tried to protect them as much as he could but someone was going to get caught out and there will be a downfall that effects everyone unfortunately, 'It's in my report, I was in the kitchen by the door.'

'Is that where you were shot?' Vance questioned.

'No, I was shot in the dining area; we struggled and ended up in the kitchen.' Gibbs and Vance looked from one to the other.

'Agent David said that she found you in the dining area.' Gibbs looked at Ziva and prayed that he was wrong about his suspicions, he hated even thinking them, he never wanted to think the worst of people that he trusted with his life, Tony and Tim had never done anything to warrant him having suspicions before but someone was lying and his gut told him that they were all dishonest. Ziva breathed in silently. She didn't know where this was going but she knew how it would end. This would be the end of her career, one that she worked hard for and cherished, she wanting to be there, she loved it there but they would never keep her now, those dreams were shattered and it was her own fault.

'Abby,' Gibbs addressed Abby who seemed to distracted, 'I asked you to do something for me.'

Abby stepped forward towards him, 'You asked me to pin point exactly where DiNozzo was shot in the house.'

'And where was he shot Miss Scuito?' Vance called.

'According to the way in which the blood patterns were on the floor Tony was standing in the dining area and ended up in the kitchen.'

'How do you know that?' he continued questioning the forensic expert.

'The blood spatters in the dining area were dripped onto the floor on impact, whereas the blood patterns on the floor leading to the kitchen were consistent meaning Tony dripped blood in that direction.'

'Which are consistent with Agent DiNozzo's report .Miss David, are you sure that you found Agent DiNozzo in the dining area?'

Ziva stayed quiet; there was no way to answer not when her report was so wrong and inaccurate.

'Then it gets better, the shooter who we just interrogated said that Agent DiNozzo yelled for backup minutes before it was given to him. Of course he is a criminal and he could be lying but the time line is consistent with the fact that the gunshot was heard by the neighbor's minutes before Agents McGee and David claim to have heard it. Agent Gibbs and I were in touch with the neighbours and they said that agents ran into the house well after the gunshot was heard. It seems as though Agent's David and McGee were not even aware of that fact that their partner was shot.' Vance threw down all the reports.

'What are they trying to say?' Abby's shaken voice was heard. She turned to her three friends waiting for them to give her some insight as to what was going on. Abby was suspicious with all the secrecy of the tasks Gibbs was given her but she didn't question it. _Things are not making sense,_ she thought. Tim refused to meet her eye. He knew that this was it, not only did he lose his friendship with Tony, but his job and Abby were next too. This was all ending, his director ambitions, his team and his friendships.

'We didn't hear the gunshots.' McGee admitted. Ziva breathed in once again this time loudly and obviously.

'Why didn't you hear the gunshot?' Gibbs asked stepping towards the two of them. His voice was calm which made them all feel a sense of eeriness.

McGee closed his eyes for a moment before continuing with the truth, 'I closed the radio.'

The room fell with a silence; the only thing that could be heard was a large gasp from Abby.

'Why did you close the radio?' Vance sat forward questioning.

'I have been asking myself that for day's director. The truth is that I was annoyed with Tony and I was tired of being bossed around by him and I switched of the radio.' Tony's eyes focused on McGee then he narrowed them at a silent Ziva.

The next thing heard was a slap. McGee's face was to the side as Abby stepped back placing her hand back down to her side.

'You son of a bitch, Tony could have been killed.' she yelled with her hand pointing at Tony. Her normally bright eyes were dark, the pain was visible. He was someone who she trusted, someone who she thought was a good person, someone who she cared for and loved. _How could I be so wrong about him_, she thought.

'McGee is not to blame.' Ziva admitted in regret. The spotlight was focused on her. 'It was not all him, I participated in that scene as well.'

Gibbs stayed silent not looking at anyone in the room, his face was paler than they had ever seen, he looked sick. All eyes were on him now including Vance who seemed to be looking for some kind of support from him. After all this was his team and they were people that he knew and cared about. Gibbs head was spinning. He had dealt with agents who were not what they seemed before but this was different. They were not just agents they were family. That second after not being able to take anymore he walked out the room with the door slamming behind him.

Gaining back the attention Vance said, 'You two will be dealt with, Tony, Abby, return back to your places of work.' He ordered. Vance didn't know how he would deal with something like this. _McGee, I actually had hopes for you, _he thought wondering whether he should get the legal team involved.

Abby refused to move. She stared at her two friends, _or former friends,_ she thought. 'I hope that you both get what's coming to you.' Abby spitted as Tony's hand on her shoulder led her out.

Once Tony and Abby were out of the office Abby turned to him, 'Tony, I, it's, they,' she began to tremble with tears falling. Tony pulled her into an embrace. She hugged him tighter not wanting to let go of him. The thought that his injury could have been worst made her latch onto to him and not want to let go. The only thing that she wanted was for Tony to be ok. Tony held onto her as she cried, tears formed into his own eyes but he would not let them fall. He had to be strong or the team. His worst fear was happening, his team was falling apart and they only thing he felt was that he was to blame. How could I have let it get to this?


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything aside from the idea. NCIS belongs to its rightful owners and so do the characters.

_AN Thanks so much for the reviews, I couldn't believe all the great things you guys said, I really appreciate it. I hope that this chapter is OK. I have been editing it for a few days now but I can't seem to get it to the standards I want. The only reason I am posting it is because if I don't post it now then I will spend forever trying to keep going over it and fixing it. Enjoy._

Tony walked down the stairs to Gibbs basement. It was a path he knew too well. It was the only place in Gibbs house that Tony knew he would be. It was the only place in the house that made sense for Gibbs to be. It was his place of therapy. It was where he went to think. It was where he lived. Looking down Tony saw Gibbs hammering away at what appeared to be a new boat. He never did understand what happened to the old ones that were never finished.

'Hey Boss, everyone's been looking for you.' Tony told him softly. He leant against his staircase and looked around his room spotting the bottle of bourbon sitting at his work desk.

'I thought you may have been on route to Mexico.' He joked.

Gibbs continued working as though he never heard Tony. The silence was kept for at least ten minutes as Tony stood there watching him, not speaking. He tried to get a read on Gibbs face but it was blank. Gibbs carried on going as though there was no one in the room.

Tony letting his emotions get the better of him and broke the quiet, 'Are you pissed at me?'

The question forced Gibbs to finally put down the hammer and face Tony.

'What do you think?' he threw back at him taking a sip of his bourbon.

'I didn't mean to lie in my report.' He began before taking that back, 'I mean of course I meant to lie in the report but I didn't mean for it to escalate to this.'

Gibbs angrily placed down his glass and moved towards Tony, 'You think I am pissed because you lied in your report?'

'I didn't want them to get into trouble.' Tony shrugged looking anywhere but Gibbs. Gibbs moved further towards him and placed his hand in front of Tony.

'You listen to me and you listen good, I don't give a crap whether you wanted to protect your friends, I don't care that you were playing the loyal Saint Bernard, I care that you lied to my face over and over again when I asked you if anything was wrong.' He yelled loud enough that it echoed in the room.

'I'm sorry.'

'Damn it.' Gibbs walked over to his work desk and threw his glass across the wall letting it shatter onto the floor. Tony barely even flinched.

'Do you have any idea what would have happened if you had died? Huh? Do you even know the pain that members of this agency would have felt? The pain that Abby would have gone through, the pain that Ducky would have gone through, the pain that I would have gone through.' He emphasized the I.

'I thought that I was protecting the team.'

'The team? What is it with you? The team, the team, you got a damn one track mind DiNozzo. This team is still together because of you. You are the heart. When are you going to realize that?'

Tony remained quiet, the best thing to do was let Gibbs vent, there was no point trying to justify his actions and why he didn't tell.

'How could you let me go on? How could you let me continue to have those two on my team? Did you not see what happened with Lee?'

'Boss, you can't compare them with Lee.' Tony defended. His former colleagues were wrong, but they were not selling top secret information and murdering viciously.

'Why not? They stabbed this team in the back just as bad. Worse. I trusted them.' His voice broke after that.

'Boss, they were wrong, but they apologized and although I don't forgive them, they are good agents. This team has already lost members.' Tony reflected back to when they lost an important member of the team, 'After we lost Kate you were devastated, I wasn't going to let that happen again.'

'Don't bring Kate into this. She was loyal; she would have died for this team and protected anyone in this family. Don't you compare the loss of losing Kate to the loss of losing two agents who stabbed their partner in the back. They almost got you killed.' His voice once again echoed in the basement.

'Ok, you're right; I should have come to you from the beginning.' Tony finally admitted.

'Damn right. Instead you let me go on living a lie. Thinking that I was grateful for those two for saving your life. I knew something was up. My gut was telling me that something was up but I didn't, I never, they, I want them off my team.' Gibbs stuttered as he came to finally demand the removal of the two agents of his team.

'This is what I didn't want to happen. This is all my fault.' Tony muttered.

That was the trigger that once again set him off, 'If you say that one more time. The only thing that you are to blame for is keeping your mouth shut. The rest is all them. It is their fault, not yours. You didn't switch that radio off. They did.' Gibbs sat down on one of the chairs in the basement. Tony looked around finding the second one he had in there and pulled it up sitting opposite the man who he considered a father.

'Boss, please think about this, if they are kicked of the team we will be assigned new agents, agents who we don't know and have never worked with before. They will probably need training and be taught the rules.'

'Screw the damn rules, I would rather have new agents than have to sit at my desk and look at those two backstabbing liars.' He threw his hands in the air.

'They are going to lose their jobs.'

'Good!' he replied stubbornly giving Tony the infamous Gibbs stare. Tony realized that it was no use, Gibbs won't budge not when his mind is set and it is, there is no way that he will allow them back on his team.

'What about McGee?'

'I don't care. I brought that kid in on my team. I trained him along with you. I watched him grow from probie to a fully qualified field agent and I trusted him with our lives.' Gibbs recalled memories that he had of McGee from when they first met up until the last time he saw him in Vance office.

'This job is his life.' Tony didn't want him fired. He didn't trust him but deep down inside he still cared for his friend. 'What is going to happen to Ziva?' Tony's concern grew once again when he thought about what could happen to Ziva.

'If I had my way then her ass would get sent back to Israel. But since she has citizenship which I so stupidly signed off on, then she will probably just be fired. As she is a probationary agent her consequences will be less than McGee who will for sure lose his position.'

'How are we going to recover boss? How are we going to be a team?' Tony asked. He lived for this team, this family, it was all falling apart, where would that leave them?

'We will be a two man team again. We did it before we can do it again. I don't think that I could trust any other agent now or ever again, not when the two that I trusted for years did something like this. Then again, I am not so surprised in Ziva's case.' Gibbs bitterly put out there.

'What do you mean in Ziva's case?' Tony asked.

'With her history, with what happened with the whole Israel thing.'

'How do you know about that?' Tony's face portrayed surprised, after all he thought that no one knew, except from McGee who he revealed it to the other night. How did Gibbs know that Ziva pulled a gun on him?

'Vance told me.'

'How does Vance know?'

'He knew from Eli.'

'How does Eli know?'

'He was the one who told her to do it. He instructed her to.'

'What would Eli get from Ziva pointing her gun at me?' Tony stood up in confusion.

Gibbs shot up directly after Tony did. His face grew as pale as it did in Vance's office.

'She pointed her gun at you?' That came out as a growl.

'What were you talking about?' he fell sick. He never meant for that to come out to Gibbs. Ziva is in enough trouble without Gibbs knowing that fact.

'I was talking about Eli ordering her to kill Ari to gain my trust.' He revealed. Tony's face showed disbelief. This information was new to him, it was foreign.

'Why did she need to gain your trust?'

'Who cares, she came on to this team as a lie, she lied all the way through and she was still lying up until an hour ago. What happened in Israel?' He barked.

Tony sighed, 'I got in an argument with her and things got heated, she aimed her gun at me.' Tony gave him the cliff notes version without throwing in all the facts.

'She pointed her gun at you, when your arm was already in a sling and you were already injured?' his anger once again arose.

'Boss, its old news.' Tony shrugged it off.

Gibbs stood up, 'That is now twice that you lied to me.' He threw his arms in the air in irritation, this situation was getting worse.

'Technically, I didn't lie boss, I just didn't tell you.' Tony shrugged.

'Don't be a smart ass, you withheld information from me. I thought that we were closer than that.' His voice softened.

'I would apologize again but I know how you feel about that.'

Gibbs stayed quiet once again processing his thoughts. His anger over another reveal was at new heights but he had to control it. For Tony's sake.

'Did she threaten to kill you in Israel?'

Tony replayed the scene in his thoughts, 'No, she just wanted to show me that I didn't have to kill Rivkin.'

'By holding a gun to you?' Gibbs head was spinning again and he felt sick.

'Yeah.'

The dreadful silence engulfed them as it did earlier.

_I trusted her; I should never have let her back to my team after Israel. Why did I let my feelings for her cover what my gut was telling me? She lied to gain my trust. She stood here in this room and told me that I was like a father to her and that she wanted to be on my team. How could I be so wrong? There off my team._ Gibbs carried on thinking in his thoughts, letting all his doubts and worries roam around in there.

'Do you hate me?' Tony asked breaking Gibbs out of his thoughts. Gibbs shook his head.

'No Tony, I don't hate you. I am just pissed.' He answered honestly.

He glanced at Tony viewing the dark shadows around his eyes 'You look tired.' The tired look on Tony's face was evident.

'It has been a long week.' Tony yawned trying to cover it.

'Go sleep, Tony. You know where the spare bedroom is.' He instructed. Obliging Tony walked up leaving Gibbs alone in his basement, worried, angry and upset.


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything aside from the idea. NCIS belongs to its rightful owners and so do the characters.

AN/ I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I have been so busy with school and the holidays so I haven't really found anytime time. Truth is, I have kind of lost interest in the show. It has become the Gibbs and Ziva show with not much room for any of the other characters or team moments. I hope it goes back to the way it was but I think the NCIS glory days are over. Anyway, here is a short chapter and I'll start trying to post again regularly. I hope you all had a great Christmas.

'Hey' Tony walked through Abby's lab. The Goth's back was turned and facing her computer. Standing behind her Tony placed an arm on her shoulder and massaged it a little until she turned to face him. Her face was pale, paler than it usually was. Her eyes looked tired as though she had been up for the past week.

'Abs, you look tired. You should get some rest when you can.'

'I'm not tired Tony. I need to work.' Abby moved past him and stood in front of the table in her lab.

'Did you leave here last night?' Tony questioned.

'No.' Abby shrugged. 'Gosh, Tony, everything is just screwed up.' Her eyes filled with tears. Tony felt his heart break. This is the face he didn't want to see. It was why he wanted to hide the truth from Abby, to avoid seeing her so hurt and upset.

'I know, but we can get through it. You and I get through everything.'

'We do. It just sucks that we trusted those people.' She gritted her teeth refusing to say their names.

'We trusted them Abby because they earned out trust. We had no idea that they would break that trust. Besides, Abby, just because I am upset with them doesn't mean you have to be. I know you think that your loyalties are with me but-'

'I think? I think that my loyalties are with you? Tony, all my loyalties are with you. They didn't just hurt you Tony, they hurt me. Hurting you hurts me. How can they ever be trusted again. I mean Ziva, fair enough, it took me years to trust her and I had only started too now. I don't feel the loss with her but I do with Tim. I thought that he was one of the best guys, the good guys. He is a complete different person to me now.'

'To be fair to him, he apologized nonstop. He really has been trying.' Tony defended. No matter how much he hurt him, Tony just wanted to defend him.

'Did Ziva try?'

Tony grimaced, 'Not really. She, just, well, not as much as McGee but she is sorry.'

'Don't defend her Tony. She is a backstabbing bitch who only cares about herself. I disliked her at first, I mean, she came in with this attitude like she was entitled to a position here at NCIS. She gave no consideration to the fact that we were mourning our fellow agent and friend. She didn't care that we may have been hurt since it was her brother who tried killed Kate and tried to kill all of us. But that's ok, I grew to like her because she did try and I'll give her that. But I was stupid for buying into that.'

Tony sighed. Abby was right. There was no denying that.

'Abs, you know that Vance is suspending Tim and Ziva until they can decide what to do with them right?' Tony brought to the light the issue.

Abby scoffed, 'Yes, after that Vance will speak to the board and they will decide what to do with them. We are going to get called to speak in front of the board and I for one will be the first to say that I want them gone away from this agency. I'm pretty sure that Ducky feels the same way, Plamer too.' She crossed her arms in front of her chest resembling a child. Abby's mind was made up.

'Do we really want to see them lose their jobs?' Tony shook his head wondering if they really could see that happen.

'No Tony, I want to see justice.' With that Abby turned her back to him once again getting on with her work and leaving Tony standing there to watch her.


End file.
